Riverside Park Eagle removed for restoration estimated at $150,000

The Eagle has left La Crosse’s Riverside Park, to get some repairs. 

On Tuesday morning, the Eagle Landmark at the west end of State Street was removed from its pedestal and strapped onto a trailer bed, along with its metal pedestal.

Both the Elmer Petersen sculpture and the pedestal will be examined for metal damage, including rust, and will undergo a restoration estimated to cost $150,000.

City park officials say they may wait until spring to put the eagle back after the restoration. 

The sculpture has stood on the riverfront for 33 years, as a gift to the city from the D.B. Reinhart family.

The removal took a little over an hour, and comes one month after the nearby Hiawatha statue was permanently taken out of the same park.